Stellar evolution in fast forward

Fast Stellar Mesh Simplification

This paper introduces Stellar Simplification, a fast implementation of the Four–Face Cluster algorithm. In our version of this mesh simplification scheme, we adopt a probabilistic heuristic that substitutes the priority queue of the original algorithm. This made our version, in average, 40% faster. In our implementation, we adopt a very concise data structure which uses only two arrays of integ...

Multiplicity in Early Stellar Evolution

Many reviews have been written on pre-main-sequence binaries over the past 25 years, e.g., Reipurth (1988), Zinnecker (1989), Mathieu (1994), and Goodwin (2010), and particular mention should be made of IAU Symposium No. 200 (Zinnecker and Mathieu, 2001), which is still today a useful reference. Most recently, Duchêne and Kraus (2013) review the binarity for stars of all masses and ages. Stimul...

Stellar Structure and Evolution

Stellar Evolution Presenting

Stars “evolve” with time in a predicable manner. Our theory of stellar evolution is one of the foundations of astrophysics, is well tested and verified, and has enabled great advances in many fields of astrophysics. As such, stellar evolution is a cornerstone of any astronomy course, from the 100 level up through graduate levels. One of the leading software to model a star’s evolution in detail...

Horizontal Branch Stellar Evolution

I review aspects of the evolution of horizontal branch (HB) stars. The defining characteristic of this, the core He-burning phase of evolution for M < Mflash ∼ 2.2M⊙, is a spread in observed colour amongst HB stars within the (almost) chemically homogeneous, isochronous populations found in Galactic globular clusters. The inference is that the stars within a given cluster must have undergone va...